It is already a well known practice to utilize transparent overlays designed to aid the student musician in learning the complexities of the tonal aspects of music; however, the prior art in this field cannot be utilized by the non-pitched percussion instruments, which do not use the tonal aspects of music.
A separate system of musical notation for the percussion instruments has evolved through the centuries that is unique to non-pitched instruments. Percussion music is written without reference to tonality or key signature, or if reference to key signature is included, it is made for the percussionist's general information and does not affect his performance of the music.
The repetitive nature of percussion music, and the acquisition of complex coordination skills create a challenge for the teacher of percussion material. Limitations inherent in standard percussion books do not allow adequate visual representation of the repetitious rhythmic patterns inherent in percussion music. Educators of percussion students have long dealt with the difficulties that arise when books do not contain adequate visual representation of the music to be learned. Typically, the student is required to memorize a given rhythm and play it, while reading a complimentary rhythm under study and performing it at the same time. This is obviously frustrating for the student. The alternative would be a cumbersome volume filled with repetition, but impractical to publish and market.